Drainage stopper



C H- KREUGER DRAINAGE STOPPER Filed Feb. 21

March 7, 1967 l AL 4 24 H;: KQEUGEQ INVENTOR.

o RN EV United States Patent ()1 3,307,206 Patented Mar. 7, 1 9617 tice 3,307,206 DRAINAGE STOPPER Carl H. Kreuger, Seal Beach, Calif., assignor to A. H. Voss Company, Hollywood, Calif., a corporation of California Filed Feb. 21, 1964, Ser. No. 346,516

Claims. (Cl. 4-199) This invention relates in general to drainage system controls, and more particularly to an improved drain stopper assembly for a bathtub or similar environment.

The present day bathtub drain is usually in the form of a completely enclosed lever-actuated mechanism, and this 'has replaced the old-fashioned rubber plug. Such present day mechanism includes an actuating lever which is mounted on the end of a tub, usually between the faucets, and is coupled to an internal slide valve. The valve is contained in a vertical tube which serves as an overflow for the tub, and the drainage tube enters into the vertical tube at a point below the bottom level of the tub. It is the purpose of such slide valve to lock the entrance against entry of water from such side opening into the vertical tube, but not to prevent the free flow of water down the vertical tube.

The side entrance may be termed a drain port. When the actuating lever is moved to a first pivotal position, the internal slide valve is moved across the drain port. When the slide valve is so moved, the port is closed and water prevented from draining out of the bathtub, and yet overflow drainage is not impeded in any way.

On the other hand, when the actuating lever is moved to a second pivotal position, the internal slide valve is moved away from the drain port. This latter movement of the slide valve opens the drain port, and the water in the bathtub is now free to drain out through the drain assembly.

The prior art drain mechanisms of the type mentioned in the preceding paragraphs utilize a metal slide valve, or other material which does not corrode easily under the chemical conditions of the water involved. This valve slides in the vertical metal pipeline which serves as the overflow. Because of the necessity of a close fit of the valve in the line to prevent leakage from the drain port, some lubricating means is required by such prior art assembly.

For this reason, the prior .art drainage mechanism usually includes a water resistant grease as a lubricating means. This grease is coated over the valve to enable it slide freely in the assembly. This lubricating means, which is essential in the prior art mechanism, has long constituted a potential hazard to valve sticking. Such sticking is caused by the tendency of foreign particles to adhere to the lubricating means. Also, the effectiveness of the water-resistant grease in the prior art drain mechanism diminishes in time because of the normal deterioration of the grease. In time, this will result in degradation by corrosion, which likewise causes sticking and malfunctioning of the valve. Then it is necessary to remove the valve for costly repairs. Modern detergents accelerate such deterioration, increasing the propensity for leakage and sticking.

Although efforts have been made to overcome the grease and corrosion problem by the use of resin coatings, such as nylon, such efforts have been less fully satisfactory because a weighted core is needed in order to provide a moving force to seat the valve. In spite of best efforts to seat the valve by such gravity means, it has been found necessary to provide a stiff linkage structure which will enable the opener to provide a drive force by manipulation of the control handle to augment the gravity force.

It is an object of this invention to provide an improved bathtub mechanism of the type under consideration, but one which is constructed such that the need for the aforementioned water resistant grease, or any other type of extraneous lubricant, is obviated.

Another object of this invention is to provide such an improved bathtub drainage mechanism which is capable of trouble-free operation over a long period of time.

A still further object of this inventionis to provide a valve and associated controls to eliminate the need to rely solely on gravity.

Another object of his invention is to produce a valve which does not entirely rely on the use of gravity, but rather one that utilizes the flexing preload of an elastic control rod.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a substantially corrosion free drainage valve for a bathtub structure seatable by gravity and costing considerably less to produce than corrosion resistant metals, but having a far more trouble free life than any corrosion free metal.

As the description of the preferred embodiment of the invention proceeds, it will 'become apparent that the invention is capable of being carried out in various types of material, and, although modern resins, sometimes referred to as plastic, are considered to be the most obvious materials, it is possible to produce some of the basic portions of this invention in ceramic porcelain, and the like. For the illustration, it will be assumed that the parts are made entirely of any One of a number of resilient plastic resin materials.

For a full understanding of the invention, a detailed description of the preferred embodiment of the drainage stopper will now be given in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the features forming the invention will then be specifically pointed out in the appended claims.

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary view, partly in section, showing a portion of a bathtub and a drainage mechanism which may be constructed in accordance with the concepts of this invention; 7

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged sectional view of the drain port area and the sliding valve of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a section view taken along the lines 3-3 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a perspective view of the valve and the control rod having a clevis at each end, as employed in the preferred embodiment of invention;

FIGURE 5 is a detail of an alternate method of securing a fluid tight fit'between the valve and the pipe structure; and

' FIGURE 6 is afurther alternate embodiment of the valve plug structure to provide a sealinginterfit.

The assembly of FIGURE 1 includes a bathtub which is shown in fragmentary form and is designated generally by the reference character 10.' The bathtub has a drain 12 which is coupled into a T-shaped tubular housing 14 The lever 18 is mounted on the end of the bathtub on' a disc-like plate 20. The plate covers an opening which will carry ofl excess water in the event the tub is inadvertently overfilled. This excess water is carried through the opening behind the plate 20 and into a pipeline 24, which is a vertical extension of the T-shaped tubular housing 14. The tubular housing 14 is coupled by a pipeline 26 to a utility drain.

Refer to FIGURE 2 in the drawing. One of the arms of the T-shaped tubular housing 14 defines a drain port 30 into the housing, and the housing is formed into a conical seat 32 adjacent the lower edge of the drain port. Note that the upper portion of the vertical section is reduced in cross sectional thickness above a shoulder area 33. r l

An open ended hollow cylindrically shaped drain valve member 34 is coupled to the actuating lever 18 by means of a resilient plastic rod 36. Clevis 37 is provided at the top to be pivotally joined 'to the lever 18, and a similar clevis 37 is provided to join the rod to a yolk of the valve member 34.- See also FIGURE 4 of the drawings.

It is customary in prior practice to provide a valve which is relatively heavy to assure entry of the valve into the closed valve position by the force of gravity. It is classic in this art to provide a link control rod from the lever 18 to the valve of-stiif rod sections. The rods are actually heavy wire and have loop ends for'providing the jointed structure. Thus, the rods may be fed into and out of the overflow pipe system for inspection and repair, as' well as for the original installation.' The connecting loops in the wire rod, as well as the possibility of its bending in the links, creates suflicient clearance to prevent valve seating if foreign matter is present, even though the control lever 18 is in closed position.

It is a highlight of this invention that there is provided a valve 34 which is not weighted or otherwise designed with the concept in mind that gravity will cause the valve to seat when the holding forces release. To the contrary, the rod 36 is a single piece resilient, but relatively stiff, plastic rod. Almost any water resistant material which may be bent sufiiciently to go into the drain opening and then straighten up to retain its original condition by elastic memory, will 'suffice. The modern plastic resins fit this specification nicely.

The purpose in usingv a one-piece rod 36 of flexible elastic memory material is'that a'dir ect drive may thus be'irnp'arted'fr'om the lever: 18 to thevalve to force its seating in spite of any grease or any foreign matter which might preventa gravity plug from proper seating. Although a directly driven valve is not 'novel in other environments, it is-novel in this environment in that the rod provides removability of the valveaft'er the'tub is installed in a home, as well as providing ease of original assembly. The nature of the rod permits such bending treatment, and yet will provide a strong seating force. Additionally, by the flexible and resilient nature of the rod, it is not necessary to maintain exact length dimensions. The rod will flex slightly when the valve is seated, transferring some of the pressure created by the lever spring of the lever 18 to the stopper. Such lever spring is well known although not illustrated in this drawing f In this improved structure, the valve member 34 has a tapered end 35 which is'a conical form to substantially mate with the -conical.sseat 32. This conical form is carefully provided to produce a tight seating action,-but to be. above" the self-locking angle. Preferably, this surface is at an angle,- between and approximately. This will provide a tight sealing fit without causing a lockingwedging action; According to this invention, two split rings 38 are seated in annular grooves 39 around the exterior surface of the valve 34. The two annular seating grooves 39 are spaced with relationship to one'another, and to the seating position of the valve 34 in the conical seat 32, suchthat they bridge the port 30. Being split rings, and of resilient nature, these rings are compressed into the annular groove 39. Hence, they are caused to close beyond their natural position, and therefore, provide an outwardly acting force against the sidewalls of the housing in the area of the port. The ends of the rings 38 may be interlocked by a step fit if desired,but are shown as being flat abutment ends. See FIGURE 3. It has been found that a small amount of leakage which may possibly result from the small opening of this abutment configuration is negligible, and therefore, the extra effort of making interlockings ends is not necessary. The illustrated embodiment will meet all practical bathroom facilities requirements.

With continued reference to FIGURE 3, it will be seen that the preferred embodiment of the rings 38 has a series of notches 41 around the inner surface in order to divide the ring into a plurality of segments 42. The segments are thus joined by reduced areas 43, which will be much more resilient than the full section of the rings 38. Hence, the flexing of the ring will be enhanced and the stress of the closure of the ring may be confined to the several 30 sections, and hence compensate for irregularity or overstressing which might be produced by trapping of foreign particles, or other irregularities. This feature has been found to provide extended useful life in a plastic resin part in this environment.

Referring to FIGURE 5, it will be seen that an acceptable and very desirable alternative embodiment may be employed by using O-rings 50. .The O-rings 50 are employed in the grooves 39 in place of the split ring, and will perform the function as well or better than the rings'38, but possibly at somewhat increased cost.

Accordingly, a further embodiment is provided in the form of a large cylindrical sleeve as shown in FIG- URE 6. Sleeve 60 bridges the entire port area in one large split ring member, and hence negates the requirement of two separate ring members. This ring 60 may also be provided with the internal series of notches 41 as described with respect to the individual smaller rings 38.

This invention may be employed in metal but is preferably employed in plastic resin material of the type which has a natural lubricating characteristic. Hence, a natural sliding action is encouraged although the reduced area contact produced by the ring concept makes the need for high lubricity considerably less than any prior art device, and constitutes a novel and exceedingly desirable improvement over the prior art.

While the instant invention has been shown and described herein in what is conceived to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is recognized that departures may be made therefrom within the scope of the invention which is therefore not to be limited to the details disclosed herein but is to be alforded the full scope of the claims.

What is claimed is: r

1. In a manually operated drainage control which comprises a T-shaped tubular housing having a through passage and a side inlet port and defining a conical valve seat in said through passage adjacent the lower edge of said inlet port and manually actuatable lever means mounted on said housing, the combination of: an open ended hollow cylindrically shaped plastic drain valve slidably'mounted in said housing and movable therein between 'an open position with respect to said inlet port and valve seat, and aclosed position with respect to said inlet port in engagement with said conical valve seat; said valveha-ving' an end annular shoulder'wall dimen-' sioned to seat upon said conical seat when said valve is in its closed position, and said valve having a loose fit with respect to said through passage of said housing; radially expandable ring means carried bysaid valve member and providing a fluid tight seal between said valve member and said housing; lever means mounted on said housing for manual actuation of said drain valve be tween said open and closed positions; and an elastic plastic rod adapted to return to a substantially straight line condition after insertion in said housing, said rod connecting said lever means to said drain valve.

2. The combination defined in claim 1 in which said drain valve is composed of a plastic material.

3. The combination defined in claim 1 in which said ring means comprises first and second radially expandable rings carried in annular retainer channels on the exterior surface of said valve, said rings being spaced to bridge said inlet port in said closed position of said valve.

4. The combination defined in claim 1 in which said ring means comprises two O-rings each having an outside diameter substantially equal to the inside diameter of said tubular housing in the vicinity of said side inlet port, said O-rings being spaced to bridge said inlet port in the closed position of said valve.

5. The combination defined in claim 1 in which said ring means comprises a radially expandable ring sleeve carried by said valve and bridging said inlet side port when said valve is in said closed position.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 3/1933 Pope 4199 4/ 1941 Read 251324 8/1953 McCuiston 251 11/ 1953 Chudnow 4199 9/ 1954 Stansfield 251-324 7/1957 Nelson et al 251324 2/1959 Fife 4-199 11/ 1964 McIntosh et a1 137375 FOREIGN PATENTS 4/1961 Canada.

15 LAVERNE D. GEIGER, Primary Examiner.

H. K. ARTIS, Assistant Examiner. 

1. IN A MANUALLY OPERATED DRAINAGE CONTROL WHICH COMPRISES A T-SHAPED TUBULAR HOUSING HAVING A THROUGH PASSAGE AND A SIDE INLET PORT AND DEFINING A CONICAL VALVE SEAT IN SAID THROUGH PASSAGE ADJACENT THE LOWER EDGE OF SAID INLET PORT AND MANUALLY ACTUATABLE LEVER MEANS MOUNTED ON SAID HOUSING, THE COMBINATION OF: AN OPEN ENDED HOLLOW CYLINDRICALLY SHAPED PLASTIC DRAIN VALVE SLIDABLY MOUNTED IN SAID HOUSING AND MOVABLE THEREIN BETWEEN AN OPEN POSITION WITH RESPECT TO SAID INLET PORT AND VALVE SEAT, AND A CLOSED POSITION WITH RESPECT TO SAID INLET PORT IN ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID CONICAL VALVE SEAT; SAID VALVE HAVING AN END ANNULAR SHOULDER WALL DIMENSIONED TO SEAT UPON SAID CONICAL SEAT WHEN SAID VALVE IS IN ITS CLOSED POSITION, AND SAID VALVE HAVING A LOOSE FIT WITH RESPECT TO SAID THROUGH PASSAGE OF SAID HOUSING; RADIALLY EXPANDABLE RING MEANS CARRIED BY SAID VALVE MEMBER AND PROVIDING A FLUID TIGHT SEAL BETWEEN SAID VALVE MEMBER AND SAID HOUSING; LEVER MEANS MOUNTED ON SAID HOUSING FOR MANUAL ACTUATION OF SAID DRAIN VALVE BE- 